Buying a boat through ABNB

Every boat is complimented by a comprehensive full colour sales brochure: 4 pages packed with information, photos and a detailed line drawing of the boat. The photos are taken by us and show the boat in its current state - not when it was launched! Similarly the comprehensive written detail is the result of our careful inspection of each boat - we spend around four - five hours on board each boat in order to obtain the detail for our brochures.

Take a look at our testimonials page and read how some past customers feel about the service we provide:

"Brochures and website are particularly good, better than all competitors"

Use the links throughout our website to discover lots of useful information you'll be glad to know about during ownership of your boat. Buying a narrowboat is just the start of your journey! Remember there's licencing, mooring fees, servicing and maintenance costs also!

Should the brochure whet your appetite further, contact us to arrange to view the boat. Remember that some boats may be more local than others as we specialise in selling boats from their own moorings, so check on the website to gain a general idea of the area where the boat is moored. We will make an arrangement to view suitable to both you and the owner.

If you then decide the boat is for you - call us to discuss your desire to purchase, your means of funding the purchase and whether the decision is subject to survey or demo, for example. When agreement is reached you will be asked for a deposit of £1,000 - this will take the boat off the market whilst things are sorted, such as demo, survey or finance. Deposits are fully refundable up to the date of exchange of contracts.

Your deposit is paid into our Client Account, named as such and kept at all times separate and distinct from our trading account.

We will not take an offer from you if the purchase funds are being raised from the sale of a house or boat UNTIL you have exchanged signed contracts with a completion date.

PLEASE NOTE: To comply with Anti Money Laundering regulations, we conduct identity checks on all named Buyers and anyone else paying funds into our Client Account. There will be a small charge to cover our costs for this service.

Once an offer has been accepted and your deposit paid, you will be asked to sign a binding Sale and Purchase Agreement contract. This specifies the conditions of the sale, and outlines when the balance of the purchase price has to be paid and how ownership transfer will take place. All payments must be made by electronic transfer such as CHAPS or Internet Banking into the ABNB Client Account.

When the funds have cleared into our Client Account, and the ownership transfer has been completed, you are the proud owner of your boat! Your ASSURANCE - For your peace of mind, we are able to offer 2 months free membership to RCR, River Canal Rescue a waterways recovery breakdown service.

Now you've bought a boat do you need some work doing before you can happily cruise away? Perhaps an engine service, a bit of boiler maintenance, or just a thorough clean & polish. Perhaps you're looking for a few alterations to the woodwork, maybe a re-paint or even change of location to cruise from. Our tradesmen page has contact details for engineers, carpenters, cleaners, painters, and even boat movers.